Wool washing machine



April 1936- w. w. WINDLE I WOOL WASHING MACHINE Filed March 12, 1934 3Sheets-Sheet 1 P 1936. w. w. WINDLE WOOL WASHING MACHINE 3 Sheets-Sheet2 627 reZWZZwi 4 WW:

Filed March 12, 1934 Patented Apr. 21, 1936 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE3 Claims.

This invention relates to machines for washing or scouring wool'or othersimilar fibers, and for removing grease and dirt therefrom. In suchwashing or scouring machines, the wool is fed loosely into an elongatedtank partially filled with water or with a soapy or alkaline solution,according to the condition of the wool to be treated. The wool isloosely suspended in the solution and is gradually worked toward thedelivery end of the machine during the washing operation.

It is essential that the wool fibers be gently handled while in themachine, as otherwise an undesirable felting action may take place,particularlywhen a soapy solution is used.

It has been customary in certain wool washing machines to use amechanically operated rake for thus gradually advancing the wool along'the tank. These rakes have been given a forward motion when in thesolution and an idle return movement when raised out of the solution,

so that the action has been intermittent and the feeding device has beeninoperative more than one-half of the time.

.It is the object of my invention to provide a wool washing machinehaving improved means for advancing the wool through the solution andfor causing the wool to progress toward the discharge end of the tank.

A further object is to provide forwarding means which is continuous inits action, so that the ,wool is given a substantially uniform andcontinuous advance movement through the machine, instead of beingalternately pushed ahead and brought to rest as in certain previousmachines.

A still further object is to provide means for giving the wool anelongated path of travel through the machine, by introducing atransverse component into the forwarding action.

My invention further relates to arrangements and combinations of partswhich will be hereinafter described and more particularly pointed out inthe appended claims.

A preferred form of the invention is shown in the drawings, in whichFig. 1 is a plan view of portions of my improved wool washing machine;

Fig. 2 is a partial side elevation thereof; Fig. 3 is a plan view of oneof the forwarding members;

Fig. 4 is a sectional end elevation thereof; Fig. 5 is a plan view ofone of the paddles or blades;

Fig. 6 is a side elevation of the part shown in Fig. 5, and

Fig. 7 is a plan view of a modified forwarding member.

Referring to Figs. 1 and 2, my improved wool washing machine comprisesan elongated tank I0, preferably rectangular in cross section andusually entirely open at the top. The tank is filled with water or othersuitable liquid to a substantial depth, as shown in Fig. 2, and ispreferably provided with a perforated screen or false bottom I l whichkeeps the wool in the upper part of the solution, while dirt removedfrom the wool may drop through the screen II and accumulate in thebottom portion of the tank, from which it may be occasionally removed asdesired.

I have indicated a supply chute 12 at the lefthand end of the machine,as viewed in Fig. 2, through which chute the loosened fibers are droppedinto the tank I 0. Any suitable and usual mechanism may be provided forfeeding the loosened fibers to the chute l2.

At the right-hand end of the machine, as viewed in Fig. 2, I have shownthe perforated screen or false bottom II gradually approaching thesurface of the solution in the tank and connecting with a guide-plate Mwhich forms a continuation of the perforated screen H and guides thewool or fiber between a pair of press rolls 1 5 by which the wool issqueezed and delivered to a conveyor l6, which takes the wool to asecond washer or to a drier according to the stage to which the wooltreatment has progressed.

Suitable means is provided for delivering wool to the rolls I5, and inFigs. 1 and 2 I have shown the usual type of such mechanism.

As shown, the delivery mechanism comprises a rake 20 pivoted on a crossshaft 2|, the outer ends of which are supported in bearings in blocks 22provided with rolls 23and slidable on inclined fixed guideways 24.Levers 26 (Fig. 1) are also pivoted on the shaft 2| and at theiropposite ends are connected to an elongated crank portion 21 of acrankshaft 28, pivoted in bearing brackets 29 mounted on the tank 10.

The arms 26 are connected by links 30 (Fig. 2) to the rake 20. Thecrankshaft 28 is provided with a pinion 3| (Fig. 1) connected by anintermediate gear 32 to a drive gear 33. The crankshaft 28 is thuscontinuously rotated and the rake 20 is moved to the right while inlowered position and is returned to the left while in raised position,thus intermittently advancing the wool. to the press rolls l5.

This delivery mechanism is illustrative only and forms no part of mypresent invention, which relates more particularly to the constructionof the forwarding members by which the Wool is advanced through thesolution in the tank l0.

Each of these forwarding members comprises a body portion or barrel(Figs. 3 and 4) mounted on a shaft 4! supported in brackets or bear ingblocks 42 on the top edges of the tank I0. Any convenient means may beprovided for continuously rotating the shaft 4| and in Fig. 1 I haveshown the shaft 41 provided with a sprocket 44 engaged by a drive chain45.

It will be understood that in. practice the machines are very muchelongated and that any desired number of forwarding members may beprovided. The sprocket chain may be arranged to engage sprockets 44 onall of the shafts 4| and thus simultaneously rotate all of theforwarding members. Preferably the chain 45 is connected to a drivingsprocket operated in timed relation to the movement of the drive gear33.

The barrel 40 of each forwarding member is provided with a plurality ofblades or paddles (Figs. 3 to 6). These blades are arranged in aplurality of longitudinally extending series on the barrel 40. Theblades 50 in one series are somewhat sharply inclined to the axis of thebarrel 40 in one direction and the blades 50 of the next series arecorrespondingly inclined in the opposite direction.

The shape of the blades may be varied but is preferably substantially asindicated in Fig. 6, so that the bottom of the blade fits thepolyangular surface of the barrel 40, while the top of the blade isprovided with a beveled leading outer corner 5| and with a beveledleading edge 52. The rear outer corner is preferably rounded asindicated at 53.

The blades 5t! are similar to the blades 50 except that the beveledleading edge 52 (Fig. 3) is oppositely disposed. The blades 50 may befirmly secured to the surface of the barrel 40 in any desired manner, asby angle brackets Bl] (Fig. 3).

The operation of my improved machine will be readily understood. Bycontinued rotation of the forwarding members, the blades or paddles 50and 5!] thereon are successively submerged and advanced through thewater toward the right or delivery end of the machine, thereby gentlyurging the suspended wool in the desired direction.

Furthermore, as the blades of successive series are oppositely inclined,the wool is first pushed transversely toward one side wall of the tank10 and then transversely toward the opposite side wall, thus progressingalong a more or less zigzag path of travel.

The length of travel is further substantially increased by the action ofthe blades in producing limited whirlpool effects in the water, asindicated by the arrows in Fig. 1. As the wool passes beyond the fieldof action of one forwarding member, it comes into the field of action ofthe next forwarding member and is thus given a substantially continuousalthough somewhat irregular advance movement toward the delivery end ofthe machine.

I sometimes find it desirable to mount spray pipes 19 (Fig. 1) betweensuccessive forwarding members, and these spray pipes are provided withperforations which are inclined downwardly and rearwardly, so that waterwill be delivered therefrom as indicated in Fig. 2. These rearwardly anddownwardly directed jets of water serve to further agitate the wool inthe solution and also tend to submerge the wool to greater depth, itbeing found that the wool has a tendency tofloat at or near the surfaceof the solution.

The spray pipes may also be used to Vary and control the rate of travelof the wool through the tank as the rearward direction of the jets tendsnot only to agitate and submerge the wool, but also to retard its traveltoward the delivery end of the machine. Thus by increasing the force ofthe jets, the rate of travel of the wool may be correspondinglydecreased and the time of the washing operation may be lengthened whendesired.

In Fig. 7 I have indicated a modified construction of forwarding memberwhich is Well adapted for construction from suitable sheet metal. Thismodified forwarding member 90 comprises a deeply corrugated metal barrelmounted on a. suitable drive shaft 9|. The corrugations of the member 90are oblique to the axis of the shaft 9|, however, so that differentportions of the corrugations produce transverse components of actionalternately disposed as in the form previously described.

With the modified forwarding member shown in Fig. '7, the wool is pushedgently first toward one side wall and then toward the other wall, at thesame time advancing toward the deliveryvend of the machine, all aspreviously described.

In practical operation, it has been found that a wool washing orscouring machine equipped with my improved forwarding members willeffectively remove dirt or other foreign substances from the woolwithout felting action, and will accomplish this at a Very substantiallyincreased speed, so that substantially more wool can be passed throughthe machine in a given length of time.

My improved machine is also extremely simple, comprising many less partsthan the commonly used rake feeding mechanism, and there are norelatively moving parts which are liable to become loosened or get outof adjustment.

The modified construction shown in Fig. 7 forms the subject matter of adivisional application Serial No. 48,083, filed by me November 4, 1935.

Having thus described my invention and the advantages thereof, I do notwish to be limited to the details herein disclosed, otherwise than asset forth in the claims, but what I claim is:

1. A wool washing machine comprising an elongated tank to contain awashing solution and a plurality of driven forwarding members eachrotatably mounted on said tank, each forwarding member extendingtransversely of said tank and having a plurality of rows of peripheralwool-engaging portions, said portions in one row being angularlydisplaced in a clockwise direction from coincidence with a planeperpendicular to the axis of said forwarding member and saidwool-engaging portions in an adjacent row being similarly angularlydisplaced but in a reverse direction.

2. A wool washing machine comprising an elongated tank to contain awashing solution and a plurality of driven forwarding members eachrotatably mounted on said tank, each forwarding member extendingtransversely of said tank and having a plurality of separateperipherally disposed wool-engaging blades arranged in a plurality ofadjacent axially extended series, the

blades in one series being angularly displaced in a clockwise directionfrom coincidence with a plane perpendicular to the axis of saidforwarding member and the blades in the next adjacent series beingsimilarly angularly displaced but in a reverse direction.

3. A wool washing machine comprising an elongated tank to contain awashing solution, and a plurality of driven forwarding members each 10rotatably mounted on said tank, each forwarding member extendingtransversely of said tank and comprising a plurality of wool-engagingblades arranged in successive axially adjacent series,'

the blades in one series being angularly displaced in a clockwisedirection from coincidence with a plane perpendicular to the axis ofsaid member and the blades of the next adjacent series being oppositelydisplaced with respect to said plane, and. the blades in any one axialseries being out of circumferential alignment with the blades in thenext adjacent series at both sides of said axial series..

WINFRED W. WINDLE.

